Related News
Home » Sunday » Now and Then
瑶姬的故事 (yao2 ji1 de gu4 shi4) Goddess Peak of Wushan Mountain
July 18, 2010, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ONE of the deities who helped Yu the Great during his unremitting fight against floods was Yaoji, a daughter of Emperor Yandi. Like her younger sister Nuwa, who drowned while boating on the East Sea, Yaoji was a smart and passionate girl and loved to travel.
When she was young, Yaoji studied with other deities and eventually cultivated herself into an immortal. But her inclination for play and travel remained as strong as ever.
Afraid that she might be harmed in an accident such as the one that claimed her sister's life, Emperor Yandi sent Yaoji to the Queen Mother of the West and asked her to live there as the queen's foster daughter.
The Queen Mother of the West resided near the Lake of Immortals. She liked Yaoji very much and took her to see all the beautiful scenes around the lake. But soon Yaoji became tired of the banality of daily life there. So, she left her foster mother and continued to travel by herself.
One day, when she came to Wushan Mountain along the Yangtze River, Yaoji was fascinated by the towering cliffs, drifting clouds and shady woods. After wandering along the mountain for days, Yaoji still couldn't tear herself away from the enigmatic scenes there.
At the same time, Yu the Great was digging water canals there to divert the flood water that was blocked by Wushan Mountain. The mountain extended more than several hundred miles and the rocks were extremely hard. The climate was capricious and harsh. After several months' hard work, Yu and his group had made little progress.
One morning, when Yu was thinking long and hard for a solution, he suddenly saw a beautiful immortal lady riding a colorful cloud along the mountain peaks. Yu immediately came forward to greet the immortal who turned out to be none other than Yaoji. He told Yaoji about his intractable problems and asked for help.
After listening to Yu's story, Yaoji not only took pity on the ordinary people who had been plagued by decades of flooding, but also admired Yu's devotion to his great mission. So, she immediately promised to help.
She invited other deities to come and use fire and thunder to heat and soften the rocks of Wushan Mountain. After 49 days and nights, when the rocks became softer, Yu and his people successfully dug a large canal to release the backed up water and divert it all the way to the East Sea.
After the project was finished, the Wushan Mountain section of the Yangtze River had been turned into the famous Three Gorges. But Yaoji was too exhausted to go back to the Heaven. She had to stay there forever.
Every day, she stood on the cliff, watching hundreds of boats plying along the Three Gorges. Eventually, she herself became a mountain peak, the Goddess Peak of Wushan Mountain and her maids were also transformed into peaks of various heights. Together, they are known today as the Twelve Peaks of Wushan Mountain.
When she was young, Yaoji studied with other deities and eventually cultivated herself into an immortal. But her inclination for play and travel remained as strong as ever.
Afraid that she might be harmed in an accident such as the one that claimed her sister's life, Emperor Yandi sent Yaoji to the Queen Mother of the West and asked her to live there as the queen's foster daughter.
The Queen Mother of the West resided near the Lake of Immortals. She liked Yaoji very much and took her to see all the beautiful scenes around the lake. But soon Yaoji became tired of the banality of daily life there. So, she left her foster mother and continued to travel by herself.
One day, when she came to Wushan Mountain along the Yangtze River, Yaoji was fascinated by the towering cliffs, drifting clouds and shady woods. After wandering along the mountain for days, Yaoji still couldn't tear herself away from the enigmatic scenes there.
At the same time, Yu the Great was digging water canals there to divert the flood water that was blocked by Wushan Mountain. The mountain extended more than several hundred miles and the rocks were extremely hard. The climate was capricious and harsh. After several months' hard work, Yu and his group had made little progress.
One morning, when Yu was thinking long and hard for a solution, he suddenly saw a beautiful immortal lady riding a colorful cloud along the mountain peaks. Yu immediately came forward to greet the immortal who turned out to be none other than Yaoji. He told Yaoji about his intractable problems and asked for help.
After listening to Yu's story, Yaoji not only took pity on the ordinary people who had been plagued by decades of flooding, but also admired Yu's devotion to his great mission. So, she immediately promised to help.
She invited other deities to come and use fire and thunder to heat and soften the rocks of Wushan Mountain. After 49 days and nights, when the rocks became softer, Yu and his people successfully dug a large canal to release the backed up water and divert it all the way to the East Sea.
After the project was finished, the Wushan Mountain section of the Yangtze River had been turned into the famous Three Gorges. But Yaoji was too exhausted to go back to the Heaven. She had to stay there forever.
Every day, she stood on the cliff, watching hundreds of boats plying along the Three Gorges. Eventually, she herself became a mountain peak, the Goddess Peak of Wushan Mountain and her maids were also transformed into peaks of various heights. Together, they are known today as the Twelve Peaks of Wushan Mountain.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
